Rachel Laryea — Black Capitalists: A Blueprint for What Is Possible - with Mike Amezcua

To many, the term "Black Capitalists" is oxymoronic. Black people were the labor force that built the infrastructure of American capitalism through the violent enforcement of legalized slavery, so they cannot, and should not, aspire to be the beneficiaries of it. But Wall Street professional and Yale-educated anthropologist Dr. Rachel Laryea poses a provocative question: What if there was a way to thrive within capitalism without diminishing someone else's life chances through exploitative practices? There is--and Black Capitalists are showing us how.Told through Rachel's own compelling narrative--growing up the child of a single mother who immigrated to the United States from Ghana and rose to the Ivy league and on Wall Street--with original on-the-ground reporting and rigorous historical analysis, Black Capitalists challenges readers to reconsider who gets to be the beneficiary of capitalism and reckons with the responsibility that comes with using the tools of our imperfect economic system to advance social good.Dr. Laryea reveals in detail how race profoundly shapes the way we participate in capitalism--and how understanding these differences can guide us toward a more inclusive and equitable future. From newly minted undergraduates who find themselves working twenty-hour-days to prove their worth on Wall Street to Nigerian startup founders working to build global credit scores, spanning the streets of Accra to the boardrooms of Goldman Sachs, Black Capitalists' stories and analysis of innovators who are as ambitious as they are altruistic demonstrate the resilience, creativity, and ingenuity of Black people who have long been excluded from the full benefits of the American economic system. At its core, Black Capitalists shows a more productive, and more inclusive, way forward.PURCHASE BOOK HERE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9780593735046?ic_referral=GNH141jj8nuH2dJKUXT8GbmxV2dUxl6bEuy-6OST4y0wM8MnmylQwNXDcZiyENnx2isRZDV4Q_SdM_snGlDEZ7pw-emSp4gWpZFtSRkbsWTMoYUav8kzbvpr1I4Uqne9zT9C1nMAfter cutting her teeth on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, Dr. Rachel Laryea left to pursue a dual PhD in African American studies and sociocultural anthropology at Yale University. Her ethnographic research aims to understand nuanced forms of Black participation in capitalist economies. Rachel has held appointments at NYU Stern Business School and is currently a Wealth Management researcher at JPMorganChase. Prior to her current role, Rachel was a racial equity investment strategist, supporting the strategic implementation of the JPMorganChase $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment in service of closing the racial wealth gap for Black, Latino, and Hispanic communities. Rachel is also the founder and CEO of Kelewele, a plantain-inspired food startup based in Brooklyn, New York.Laryea is in conversation with Mike Amezcua, the Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of History at Georgetown University and the Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. and Annette L. Nazareth Member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, NJ. He teaches and writes about 20th century U.S. history, Latinx history, urban studies, capitalism, race, inequality, politics, and immigration. He has written for The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Chicago Sun-Times, and Zócalo, and has discussed his work on NPR, PBS, ABC, Univision, and other programs.*recorded 6/17/2025